How to Grow Great Tomatoes

1. How to Grow Great Tomatoes Robert W. Nixon

2. Also by these 27 other Howard County Master Gardeners… Linda Branagan, Columbia Diane Brown, Westminster Drenda Collins, Clarksville Linda Decker, Highland Michelle Domangue, Columbia Aylene Kovensky Gard, Columbia Leslie Gilbert, Mt. Airy Corliss Glennon, Dayton Pat Greenwald, Sykesville Joyce Halasz, Ellicott City Jane Hayes, Clarksville Jerry Kissel, Ellicott City Paul Kojzar, Ellicott City Chris McComas, Woodbine Holly McFarland, Columbia Shelley McNeal, Clarksville Ron Newmister, Dayton Barbara Nibali, Ellicott City Rosemary Noble, Ellicott City Sylvia Rampini-Huestis, Columbia Jo Ann Russo, Sykesville Paul Rutter, Elkridge Carolyn Taggart, Columbia Louisa Rogoff Thompson, Columbia Barbara White, Ellicott City Jan Marie Williams-Nguyen, Columbia Lisa Wingate, Ellicott City

3. College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

4. Tomato basics/botany • Member of the nightshade family • Other members: peppers, potatoes, tobacco, & eggplants • Native European members included belladonna, mandrake, and henbane, all poisonous and without edible fruit • Tomato leaves, stems, & green fruit contain a glycoalkaloid

5. Tomato basics/history • Origin: west coast of South America • Spanish explorers: Aztecs sold tomatoes in their markets and made sauces from them • Aztec “tomatl” became Spanish “tomate” and eventually English “tomato” • Spanish & Italians first used for food in Europe, but others considered it poisonous

6. Tomato basics/site selection Tomatoes flourish in (1) good, well-drained soil and require a (2) minimum of 6 hours (preferably 8-10 hours) of direct sunlight and (3) approximately an inch of water a week. Plants have vigorous root systems

7. Tip: Add compost to your garden soil to improve it from year to year “Add compost, compost, and more compost. I use leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen scraps to make it. I incorporate it into the garden bed after it has finished aging (3 to 6 months).” Shelley McNeal & Lindy

8. Growing tomatoes in containers Containers can solve problems, such as bad soil & high-rise living, but requirements for the plants remain the same *Mention of a brand names is for purpose of illustration and not endorsement

9. You can make your own containers HGIC Publication 600, Container Vegetable Gardening, contains detailed how-to information, including diagrams for making your own containers from 5-gallon buckets. Paul Rutter

10. Tip: Deer & lots of other critters love tomatoes. Fence them out! Clarksville’s finest

11. Starting your tomato seeds Too many seeds? Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, such as refrigerator or freezer. They will remain viable for 5 to 7 years, though germination rate will decline each year. 34 Early Girl seeds in $1.09 packet = $.04 each + $.14 for each of 36 cells of $4.94 Seed Starter kit = approximately $.18 each tomato seedling.

12. Tip: Start seeds 4-8 weeks before set-out date in sterile, soilless medium in a 75-degree F. location under fluorescent lights. Standard cool-white fluorescent bulbs work well. Adjust the lights so they remain 1”-2” above the seedlings.

13. Consider your utility room …a greenhouse without glass 3-6 mil. clear plastic draped over lights would increase humidity and air temperature

14. I use trays with grids, yoghurt cups, marker, & a Phillips screwdriver

15. Punch drainage holes & use widely available sterile seeding mix Pat Greenwald’s home mix: 1/3 each of perlite, milled sphagnum peat moss, & horticultural-grade vermiculite

16. Fill cup ½ with starter mix, drop in seed & cover with mix, water …

17. About 5 to 7 days later …

18. About a week later, thin seedlings with scissors to one per cup …

19. Damping off: Root rots that kill seeds or seedlings “A number of soil-borne, fungal and bacterial root rots affect a wide range of vegetable crops. Three fungal diseases … are collectively referred to as ‘damping off’…. Seedlings grown inside homes under fluorescent lights and in greenhouses succumb to damping-off if the medium is poorly drained and kept too wet.” -- UME’s Home and Garden Information Center website

20. Tip: Prevent damping-off diseases by (1) using sterile, soilless starting mix, (2) watering plants from bottom after the mix has dried slightly, and (3) removing infected plants immediately. Additional safeguard: cover seeds with ¼” vermiculite, sand, or other sterile material.

21. Tip: Periodic repotting results in strong seedlings “I transplant seedlings from 2- to 4- to 6-inch pots. Each time, I remove the lower leaves, so just the top 2 inches of leaves remain. I replant them deeply in the larger pot. The result is great seedlings with strong root systems.” Jane Hayes with ‘San Marzano’

22. Tip: Begin hardening off seedlings 10 to 14 days before transplanting “Hardening off” means introducing your plants to outdoor living: light, wind, temperature differences

23. Best time to plant? • When soil temperature reaches 55 to 60 degrees • Here, usually mid-May to 1st week of June • Can plant earlier if plants are protected • If planted early, plants may grow slowly & be subject to insect & disease attacks • But choice plant varieties may not be available then at retailers, so buy & hold

24. Transplantingtips • Cloudy, wind-free day – or late afternoon • Dig holes in soil improved with compost; mix in 1/4 cup of garden fertilizer, a small handful of gypsum or lime, and a pint of water • Remove leaves except top-2-3 inches • Set plants deep, to just below remaining leaves, and protect from harsh weather • Mulch ASAP & water as needed

25. The perfect collar: toilet paper roll The collar protects the stem from cutworms, which are moth larvae (caterpillars) that live just underground and may sever young plants near ground level.

26. Paul Kojzar: Planting “I plant tomatoes where I did not grow tomatoes last year. I dig a hole about 2’ wide and 2’ deep and fill it with a 50:50 mix of my organic compost and existing soil from my garden. For each plant, I add ½ cup of hydrated lime* and a cup of dry chicken manure. Finally, I mulch my tomato patch with a 2”-deep mix of shredded leaves and grass clippings.” * Caustic: read directions carefully

27. Ron Newmister: Planting I “I make a hole approximately 8” deep and 12” wide. I use half garden soil mixed with half well-aged (> 6 months) horse manure (1-1-1). Compost/cow-manure mixtures available in 40-lb. bags work just as well. Put half of the soil/manure mixture in the bottom of the hole….

28. Ron Newmister: Planting II “Pinch all leaves from plant except for the top 1 or 2 groups. Place plant in hole at an angle of 30 degrees to the soil surface with the top pointing to the northeast. The strong spring/early summer (southwest) sun will pull the plant to the vertical in 1 or 2 days....

29. Ron Newmister: Planting III “Fill planting hole with the remaining half of the soil/manure mixture, leaving approximately 2” of the stem above the soil surface. Side dress each plant when approximately 6” tall with ¼ cup of lime plus ¼ cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer.”

30. Paul Rutter creates his own organic fertilizer mix Paul Rutter

31. Tip: Stake or cage and mulch your plants to prevent diseases and facilitate access

32. Stake ‘em … Aylene Gard Barbara White

33. Cage ‘em … Ron Newmister

34. Ron Newmister: Making cages I “I make circular cages out of concrete-reinforcement mesh, which is a steel, fence-like material with a 6” grid. It’s available in rolls that are 5’ high by 25’, 50’, or 100’ in length. Cutting at every 17th grid results in a cage approximately 4 ½’ high and 8’ in circumference and 2 ½’ in diameter….

35. Ron Newmister: Making cages II … Cut the horizontal wire from the cage bottom so the remaining 6” vertical pieces can be pushed into the soil for stability. A single piece of 5’ rebar, a steel fence post, or a pointed wooden stick can be driven alongside and tied to the cage to help the plant survive our occasional hurricane. Add 3 to 4” of mulch, such as straw or grass clippings, before installing the cage.”

36. Paul Kojzar: Caging “I use a two-layer caging system to hold my plants in place. The first layer is a traditional tomato cage, while the second layer is a 3’-diameter round cage made from concrete reinforcing mesh with 6”-openings and 5’ tall.”

37. The mulch often recommended: Straw

38. … newspaper, compost, plastic …any barrier between leaves and soil Paul Rutter

39. Train ‘em … Pat Greenwald with ‘Costoluto Genovese’

40. Ron Newmister: Training tomatoes “As the plant grows, bring the branches through the grids to the outside of the cage. Do this every 2 or 3 days. If the branches get too long while inside the cage, they will break when you try to bring them through the grids.”

41. Two kinds of store-bought ties Jute, sisal, cotton, Velcro … Plastic stretch ties

42. Most-used tie by HoCo Master Gardeners: pantyhose tops

43. To sucker, or not to sucker? “Suckers are the little vegetative growths that arise at the junctions of the stem & the side branches. They have no useful purpose….” “Prune them if you are a sucker-pruner. Pinch them if you are a sucker-pincher. Let them go & things will get pretty dense & green….” John Page, Grow the Best Tomatoes, Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, A189

45. HGIC Publication 70Recommended Vegetable Cultivars TOMATOES (* = hybrid variety) Red: Better Boy*, Big Beef*, Big Boy*, Celebrity*, Delicious, Early Girl*, Jet Star*, Mortgage Lifter, Park’s Whopper*, Red Pear, Rutgers, Stupice, Supersonic* Pink/purple: Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball, German Johnson, Giant Belgian, Pink Brandywine, Pruden’s Purple Yellow: Golden Queen, Lemon Boy, Yellow Pear Paste: Amish Paste, Roma, San Marzano, San Remo, Super Italian, Viva Italia* Cherry: Gardener’s Delight, Sun Cherry, Sun Gold, Sweet 100*, Sweet Cherry, Sweet Million

46. Howard County Master Gardeners suggest these varieties … Early: Early Girl* (* = hybrid variety) Red cherry: Sweet 100* Orange cherry: Sun Gold* Small red: Juliet* Large red: Celebrity*, Better Boy*, & Supersteak* Heirloom: Brandywine Paste: San Marzano Small yellow: Yellow Plum/Pear Large orange: Kellogg’s Breakfast

47. Key terms: Determinate and Indeterminate varieties, sometimes abbreviated (D) and (I) • Determinate (or bush or patio) varieties grow to the pre-determined height of the cultivar. Though plants may be short, they can produce fruit all summer. This type is great for containers and small gardens. • Indeterminate varieties produce fruit at intervals along their ever-growing stems , with blooms and fruit in all stages of development – until frost kills the plant.

48. Disease ID codes help you select resistant hybrid varieties Totally Tomatoes

49. Early Girl Hybrid VFF Totally Tomatoes "Early Girl is dependable, has few disease problems, and is better adapted to varying weather conditions than other early varieties I've tried.  It has very good flavor for an early tomato“ – Barbara White  Ron Newmister

50. Sweet 100 Hybrid VF Totally Tomatoes “Sweet 100 has true tomato flavor as well as sweetness. It’s an incredibly vigorous vine growing 6’ tall or more and producing hundreds of tomatoes” – Louisa Rogoff Thompson August 23 Photo: Paul Kojzar